England scrape past Italy to keep Grand Slam hopes alive

England 18 Italy 11

It was not pretty and there were precious few points for artistic impression but England clocked up another victory at Twickenham.

That is about the best you can say about an 18-11 win against Italy which allows England to go to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff next weekend with hopes alive of delivering their first Six Nations Grand Slam for a decade.

Can they do it against the Welsh?

Not if they show the glaring lack of enterprise and the sterile sloppiness which was on show against an Italian side who fleetingly threatened to create some history of their own.

Italy have never beaten England, yet if Toby Flood had not worn his most precise kicking boots then they might well have done so.

Flood’s kicking performance was immaculate, six successful penalties from six attempts.

But this was surely not what England coach Stuart Lancaster was batting on about when he said it was time for England to win with style.

People talk about this England side as having the potential to be world-beaters.

They are a long way from that on this performance, a display which lacked creativity and guile. A match in which they never showed the discipline or the ruthlessness required if they are to challenge the world’s best in 2015. A match in which they seemed to take two steps backwards.

Yet the bottom line is that they won and perhaps that is what the fans should thank Lancaster for most of all. He has instilled a winning mentality in this team even when they are not playing well.

The fact that they are going to Cardiff with a realistic opportunity of landing their first Grand Slam in a decade tells you all you need to know about Lancaster’s influence.

Eighteen months ago at the World Cup under Martin Johnson England were a shambles. No direction, no tactical insight, no real leadership and a reputation for ill-discipline on and off the field.

The mental turnaround has been little short of phenomenal since Lancaster took over 13 months ago. It is mostly down to an organised mind, a flair for selection and a talented team of coaches in Mike Catt, Andy Farrell and Graham Rowntree. And even in a game Lancaster will wish to forget, his meticulous attention to detail was apparent all over Twickenham.

It was there in the debut of prop Mako Vunipola, whose baggy shorts and socks around his ankles give him a sloppy demeanour, but who was ubiquitous in the loose and promised much for the future.

It was there in the goal-kicking of Flood, even if the fly-half’s ability to launch penetrating breaks is not what it was.

It was there in the feisty resolve of captain Chris Robshaw and Joe Launchbury in the pack and in the solid work of Manu Tuilagi in the centre.

It is what you need when you are not playing that well and for too long England allowed themselves to be dictated to by an Italian side determined to produce the sort of performance they turned in when beating France, rather than the disappointments of defeat against Wales and Scotland.

Yes, the critics will say, it was still only Italy, but this was an Italian side with talismanic captain Sergio Parisse back from suspension and at his brilliant best. Parisse was by some distance the classiest player on the pitch, one off-load and spectacular break with Alessandro Zanni the highlight of a first half which was as flat and grey as the chilly weather.

Italy are no longer pushovers on the world stage.

Much of the Italian solidity comes from their pack, which held its own and better against England’s forwards for much of this contest.

They also had a deserved man of the match in full-back Andrea Masi while the work of fly-half Luciano Orquera was also impressive, his delightful kick into the hands of Luke McLean for Italy’s try perhaps the most artistic moment of a fascinating but rarely thrilling encounter.

Yet, despite a fraught and anxious final 10 minutes for the Twickenham fans, it is England who march on to Wales and a potential date with destiny.

One thing is certain. To return in glory they will need to perform much, much better than this.